State Bank of India (SBI) said 98.9% of its transactions ran through alternate channels in the quarter ended 30 September 2026, as registered users on its YONO app rose to 11.1 crore from 9.3 crore a year earlier. The figures are part of the Q2 FY27 investor presentation the bank filed with the stock exchanges on 3 November 2026, alongside a 14.28% rise in net profit to ₹23,038 crore.
The numbers show how far India’s largest lender has shifted everyday banking away from branches. Digital channels, which SBI defines as internet, mobile, POS, e-commerce, UPI, YONO and green channel, handled 95% of transactions in September 2026, against 94% a year earlier. Branches now carry about 1%. The bank has been building out the security side of this push too, including its new CyRIS cybersecurity centre of excellence launched last month.
SBI YONO and UPI numbers for Q2 FY27
According to the presentation, YONO growth picked up sharply during the quarter:
- YONO registrations nearly doubled to 59.63 lakh in Q2 FY27 from 30.53 lakh in Q2 FY26, or about 66,000 a day.
- Fund transfers on YONO rose 68% to 9.72 crore, about 11 lakh a day.
- About 6 crore customers have registered on the new version of YONO.
- Unique SBI UPI users grew to 26.3 crore from 22.1 crore, and SBI handled 1,828 crore UPI remit transactions in the quarter, a 25.28% share of remittances.
- WhatsApp banking registrations stood at 1.84 crore.
SBI also reported market shares of 28.40% in mobile banking transactions by number, 22.23% by value, 24.13% in debit card spends and 31.09% in ATMs. Scale of this kind puts pressure on reliability, an issue NPCI data recently put in focus with UPI technical declines across major banks.
How SBI is using AI and analytics in lending
The bank said advances generated through analytical leads reached ₹96,214 crore in H1 FY27, up 29.40% from ₹74,355 crore in H1 FY26, and earned ₹108 crore in fees. Digital loans disbursed in the half year totalled ₹7,225 crore, led by pre-approved personal loans and real-time personal loans.
Under Project SARAL, SBI has rolled out AI and machine learning collection models that predict early delinquency and generate account-level risk flags, so teams can prioritise collection actions across products. It is also using analytics-driven, cash-flow-based credit assessment to extend digital loans to gig workers. The move follows earlier automation work such as SBI’s plan to clear over half its cheques using AI.
SBI Q2 FY27 results at a glance
Net interest income rose 14.69% to ₹49,143 crore and operating profit grew 7.28% to ₹34,226 crore. Gross advances increased 17.84% to ₹52.08 lakh crore and total deposits rose 12.27% to ₹62.78 lakh crore. The gross NPA ratio improved by 34 basis points to 1.39%.
Why it matters for Indian banking
With nearly all transactions now digital, SBI’s growth levers are app adoption, data-led lending and AI in operations rather than branch expansion. The trend mirrors wider evidence of AI-led productivity gains at Indian banks, and it raises the bar for uptime and cyber resilience as more customers depend on a single app.
Key takeaways
- 98.9% of SBI transactions went through alternate channels in Q2 FY27, with YONO at 11.1 crore registered users.
- YONO registrations rose 95% and YONO fund transfers 68% year on year.
- Analytics-led advances hit ₹96,214 crore in H1 FY27, and AI models now guide SBI’s collections under Project SARAL.
Source: SBI Q2 FY27 investor presentation filed with BSE, 3 November 2026.
Featured image: Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, Chairman, State Bank of India. Photo: World Economic Forum via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
